Increase in driving school bookings as pandemic restrictions loosen

By Sharon Johnson, Mike Agogliati

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    ROCKY HILL, Connecticut (WFSB) — You may have noticed more student drivers on the road lately.

With the vaccine rollout—and school ending—teens are behind the wheel again.

As you could imagine—this is a very odd time to be a new driver—so these kids are pretty nervous.

Driving schools have advice for them—and for adults as well.

“We’ve been busier than ever,” Brandon Dufour, CEO of the Next Street Driving School said Tuesday. “License tests right now are booking out into September and October.”

DuFour says they’re looking to hire 50 to 60 instructors to keep up with the ongoing demand.

Several driving schools we spoke with say they’re booked and busy this summer.

It’s a combination of a backlog that was created during the Covid lockdown—as well as students getting out of school.

“Summers are always your busiest for students because you’re out of school and sports are ending,” Karen Midura, owner of the Glastonbury Driving School said.

“More instructors are coming back, and more students are coming in because of the vaccinations,” added Salvatore Calafiore, owner of the Santos Driving School.

But it’s coinciding with a return to traffic… with triple a forecasting a strong summer travel season.

“During covid a lot of people were staying home so a lot of our roads were pretty empty,” Midura said.

While student drivers are the ones learning—driving schools have advice for adults on the roads, too.

“Have more patience with us,” Calafiore said.

“Remember when you were 16 years old,” DuFour said. “Remember the nerves and the anxiety that you felt around learning how to drive.”

AAA says the period between memorial day and labor day are the most dangerous months for teen drivers.

They’re encouraging parents to make sure they get as much experience as possible before they hit the road.

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